What would you change about Mafia Wars? by David Reedy

A week and a half ago, I talked with Mistyfied admins about what THEY would change about Mafia Wars. Some of them were quite eager to express their views. After all, there's plenty about the game that could stand bettering. Brutus and Ann have already posted their thoughts, and there's more to come. What do you think? 

Today we bring you David Reedy's thoughts on how we can improve Mafia Wars. David has been around the Mafia Wars scene for years now. These are his thoughts on the game:

I was asked by Misty to do a short write up of what I’d change in Mafia Wars with special emphasis on Trading and how it might benefit those of us left in the game.

I’m going to preface this with the fact that I’ve become utterly disenchanted with the way Zynga has handled things in Mafia Wars. I have become cynical to the fact that they can’t fix it and don’t intend to. Zynga took their golden goose and turned it into a cash cow that’s heading towards the slaughter house. They took a game that was fun to play and try to dominate and raped the players by looking only for the cash to fill their coffers. The game is no longer a game but has become “Mafia Chores” as some of the players have so eloquently renamed it.

So here we go!

Mafia Wars CAN’T be fixed… period. Not only can it NOT be fixed, it won’t be. I’m sorry to be the one to break this to you, cupcake!
I’ve seen first hand that Zynga ultimately doesn’t give a rat’s furry ass about us, the players. They are all about the almighty dollar first and foremost. The fact that they took away the Live Chat Customer Support for players that don’t pay for the game should give you a clue that they really don’t give a crap about anything BUT the money. Even those of us that still have Live Chat are typically just bought off with RPs and loot and our problems remain.

So what would I do to help?

I’m really going to focus on the Trading Community on this one because that’s what I loved so much about Mafia Wars to begin with.

For starters, take MW back to its glory days when EVERYTHING was giftable. The Moscow Era was when the game was at its height of players and fun.

1) Get rid of the gifting limits and make every last item in the game giftable.

Who the hell cares if a few unscrupulous people hoard and sell the virtual items? Seriously, what REAL harm did it do to Zynga’s bottom line? I have personally never sold anything or otherwise made any money from MW either directly or indirectly. I had no desire to and still don’t. But, in this particular time of economic frustrations, I can’t blame anyone for trying to put food on their tables by (almost) whatever means they can. If someone can make a few extra bucks from MW, more power to them!

2) Trading needs a new Gold Standard.

Daily Chance Lotto USED to be our Gold Standard until the cloners took over about 18 months ago.

My idea (since #1, above, won’t ever be implemented) is to give us the Brazil Precious Collection. Here’s my reasoning.

a)      It has revault value.

Some people will trade for these items just to vault them and get the bonus associated with them. Others will hoard them. Either way, great! As they’re taken off the market their value will increase.

b)      If the cloners strike again, who cares?

As they’re taken off the market by those trading for them in order to vault, they’ll keep their inherent value regardless of how many hit the market. This was NOT the case with Lotto due to the inability to revault.

3) This one has been talked to death and is a general concern for everyone: Event Fatigue.

For crying out loud, Zynga… buy a freakin’ clue! Who care if the big pay-to-play people have nothing to do? Just let the game stew for a period of time before rolling out events.
I remember when an event was cool because it was so rare. You know, like the first 4^th of July event! Even the Tigers Unleashed event was cool because it wasn’t on top of another event. Also, you were limited to how much loot you could acquire from the event and, in the case of the 4^th of July event, you could trade for more items. Red Coats held their value for a lot longer than ANY item has since!

4) Scripts have been a part of the game almost since its inception. Whether you like them or not, they’re here to stay. Wake up and smell the coffee. Allow the passive scripts to officially become a part of the game. And IF that can’t happen, then build your own into the game that work better than the script writer’s versions! Hire Team Spockholm to show you how to do it if you have to!
When Arun’s Chucker came out the trading community embraced it with joy! I was using Spockholm’s multi-gifter before that and Chucker beautifully simplified the process of sending many gifts to people.
When MW decided to create their in-game multi-gifter it was, and remains, a complete joke!

5) And finally… just listen to the players. It’s OUR game, after all.

Yes, Zynga, you created it and own “all rights” to it. But if we, the players, all walk away it’s dead. Say it with me, Zynga… “No more money from your golden goose”!

In closing, I’m in this game for the long haul. I still like to be a part of it after close to 3 years of playing. It’s about the people; the players. I’ve made some real friends playing this stupid game! I’ve had a lot of fun with it and will continue to play it simply because I’m a hopeless romantic.

I now pick and choose what I do in the game. I refuse to let the game dictate to me what I should do. No, it’s not nearly as fun anymore. But every now and then I get a whiff of what it once was and play it at face value.

If Zynga management ever decides to pull their collective heads out of their asses, they can count on me to be there to help guide them to its resurrection. 

David Reedy

[KTM] Damage, Inc.

Thank you David!

What do YOU think? Can this game be changed?